Gruppe C: Social Identification with virtual communities
| Theses : "Social Identification with Virtual Communities" by Sonja Utz Interpersonal Communication on the 24th of February 2009 Professor: Prof. Dr. Gertraud Koch Composed by: Carla Rostásy & Simon Scharf | Introduction The given article “Social Identification with Virtual Communities” was written by Dr. Sonja Utz, an assistant Professor at the VU University in Amsterdam. It was published 2008 in the book “Mediated Interpersonal Communication.” The main themes that are discussed are the rise of mediated interpersonal communication and social identification with virtual communities. Key questions that arise within are how group formation takes place in virtual spheres and what consequences result for individuals and society. Due to the complex and recent nature of the subject as well as the lack of sufficient foundational research many questions are not able to be dealt with as thoroughly as the previous topics we have discussed within this course and therefore must remain unsolved. It does, however, offer excellent possibilities for further research within the realms of communication and social science. | Virtual Communities and Virtual Settlements A Definition In general, the venues in which virtual interaction can take place are settlements and communities. :“Virtual communities are an aggregation of individuals or business partners who interact around a shared interest, where the interaction is at least partially :supported and/or mediated by technology and guided by some protocols or norms” (Porter, 2004). For Utz, the defining aspect of virtual communities as opposed to virtual settlements is the existence of social relationships between members of the same community. Communication in these communities does not necessarily have to be entirely computer-based as members also start to meet face-to-face. Within virtual communities one can classify two types of relationships. (1) Interpersonal attraction to other individuals or group members and more importantly (2) social identification with the group as a whole, which explains the emergence of group norms and is considered the factor, that turns an aggregation of individuals (= virtual settlement) into a virtual community. The Approach Due to the fact that group behavior and group identity cannot be explained by the mere analysis of interpersonal relationships and ties the author has chosen the social identity approach, which as opposed to a sociological approach takes psychological factors into account. It focuses on human identification with groups via processes that succeed either top-down or bottom-up. The underlying approach takes into account that groups are more than the sum of interpersonal ties, thus enabling research on a higher level of abstraction. | Theses Thesis 1 Virtual settlements, which can be subdivided into three groups build the foundation for virtual communities. 1979 saw the start of asynchronous topic-centered discussions in newsgroups, which are hierarchically organized virtual bulletin boards. Further developments were documented in the late 1980’s, when multiuser online chat systems enabled synchronous communication. Although graphical boundaries can be bridged, temporal restrictions still exist. In contrast to the newsgroups, chats are not explicitly topic-centered, but range from small talk to flirt-lines. In addition to these commonly known venues of communication MUDs (Multiuser Dungeons) represent less well-known text-based role-playing adventure games. Due to their focus on socializing and interacting, MUDs can be seen as close mirrors of society that represent complete virtual worlds. The most renowned MUDs such as Second Life or World of Warcraft have expanded their text-based foundations to graphical and three-dimensional multiuser games, which even attract commercial institutions. Thesis 2 Present developments such as mobile communities and the Web 2.0 result in the breaching of boundaries. New trends that have surfaced within the last few years are mobile communities and Web 2.0. The former focuses on communication via cell phones. Global positioning systems such as Dodgeball and Playtxt are used to connect people locally, thus, representing a trend away from globalization. The latter, a so-called buzzword, was invented at a conference in 2005 and is used to describe a fundamental change in software development. It is also called the social web due to its social nature that connects people bottom-up. Therefore, the social web’s technologies such as social network sites and social sharing services are primarily people- oriented rather than topic-centered. Weblogs and wikis are examples of Web 2.0 technology, which stimulate active participation and in the case of the latter also contain an “edit this page” option. Thus, nowadays the borders of these virtual environments are blurring. Mobile and internet-based communities are being integrated into one another via programs such as Skype, ICQ etc. Thesis 3 “Virtual communities can be described by taking account of five attributes: pur-pose, place, platform, population interaction structure, and profit model.” (Porter, 2004) The already existing variety of virtual communities is rapidly developing, as boundaries blur alongside technological progress. Therefore, it is wise to build a typology on anthropogenic criteria. According to Utz, Porters distinction between member-initiated and organization-sponsored communities, as well as their subdivisions is the most comprehensive and exhaustive approach. Member-initiated communities can either be socially,- or professionally-oriented, whereas organization-sponsored communities are governmental, nonprofit or commercial. Both however, unify and can be described by the five attributes above. In reality, the purpose dictates the profit model as these two go hand in hand. Furthermore, the place can be a combination of online and offline venues, which dictates how people interact with one another. Due to the continual development of communities and the ongoing change of technology, these variables offer an adequate possibility of describing communities as diverse as Amnesty International and Apple. Thesis 4 One can distinguish between social and personal identities, when analyzing group formation processes. It is possible to make a distinction between personal and social identities. They are both a part of an individual’s self concept, which are salient at different times. The appearance of both depends on the degree of anonymity within the community. If differences are not perceived due to anonymity, the personal identity is salient through categorization and a top-down process of social identification with the group is initiated. Within this complex, personal relationships can then develop, which would evoke a shift to salient social identities. When users identify strongly with the virtual community, a trend of ‘depersonalization’ can be observed. Thus, they tend to perceive themselves as interchangeable group members. Consequently, group norms and aims can start to guide one’s behavior, overruling individual preferences. As people tend to enter communities that best fit their interests and goals, one can assume that social identification is high from the very beginning and is followed by the strengthening of interpersonal relationships. Thesis 5 As Virtual Communities connect people from all over the world, they extend the possibilities of finding others with similar interests, thus facilitating large-scale collaboration and providing access to information otherwise not available. Although the idea of finding people with similar interests is very appealing at first and definitely is one of the major reasons for the rapid spread of virtual communities, this does not mean that it automatically influences society in a ‘good’ way. This is due to the fact that a lot of criminal or even extremist actions are being coordinated via virtual communities. On the other hand of course, one can observe developments like Wikipedia, where people interact to share their knowledge and produce a public good. Furthermore, one striking example of how people can be motivated to engage in social actions via the internet is Barack Obama’s recent election campaign in which he managed to mobilize a huge amount of volunteers and regularly addressed his unpaid helpers through virtual communities. Therefore, it must be stated that it is not possible to generalize the consequences of virtual communities for society as being ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Consequently, it needs to be judged on an individual basis. Thesis 6 Participation in virtual communities can change one’s real behavior, attitudes and actions. Several studies found that the level of participation in virtual communities and/or online newsgroups does indeed affect one’s behavior, attitudes and actions. For example gays who ac-tively contributed to online forums and talked about their experiences showed a higher level of self-acceptance and reported it made it easier for them to ‘come out’. Similarly, researchers found that women with breast cancer who participated in virtual communities to share their experience and talk about their illness showed a correlation between the amount of participation and psychosocial wellbeing. | Promising Questions for Future research 1) Are weblogs really community-forming? Often seen as a typical example for virtual settlements, weblogs are capable of eventually becoming community-forming venues. Despite the fact that 80 percent are abandoned after a few months and some are merely read by passive users who do not contribute to the site, there are specific cases that show characteristics of communities. Yet again, it is not possible to generalize in this sphere and further research must be waged. 2) Do users of social network sites categorize themselves as a member of the respective community? Hereby, the question arises as to whether certain communities forge social identification among users, who do not yet know each other, or if they are just a means of keeping in touch with people who are already familiar. Especially the influence of mobile communities and the effects of ‘new media’ on group identity remain unsolved. 3) How do people integrate virtual communities into their daily lives? Research so far has been rather one-sided. To date, it is not yet known, in which combination preferences are chosen by individuals. For instance, examples would be topic-centered discussions versus collective action as well as local communication versus world-wide interaction. 4) How many virtual and traditional groups do people belong to, and how stable is this pattern? This unresolved question serves to illustrate that there is no sufficient knowledge yet, about how virtual communities relate to one’s offline group memberships. This also applies to the following question. 5) Do people abandon a virtual community more easily than a traditional one? 6) What impact will these developments have on society? On a sociological level, researchers had come to the conclusion that technology had produced ‘mobile privatization,’ due to television and mobility. However, the recent development of the internet has reversed this trend and evoked ‘immobile socialization,’ which means that people start to engage in collective action while staying at home. Utz has added the development of social technology such as mobile communities, which ultimately leads to mobile socialization. | Literature Utz, S. (2008), Mediated Interpersonal Communication (S. 252-267), New York City: Routledge. Porter, E. (2004), A Typology of Virtual Communities, New York City: Routledge.